Picture the Saturday lunch rush. An order comes in online, lands on the order screen, and nobody sees it — a new staff member is covering the counter, the screen has gone dark, and the kitchen is already backed up. The customer's card has been touched. A second order arrives. Then a third. By the time someone notices, there are three orders in the queue that nobody confirmed, a customer about to call wondering where their food is, and no clean way to handle any of it.

That particular problem — orders arriving when nobody is positioned to answer them, and the uncertainty about what the customer has actually been charged — is something Daviah addresses directly. This guide walks through exactly what changes, step by step, and is equally clear about the parts of the broader operational chaos that Daviah does not solve.

What Daviah does not address — say this plainly first

The wider pain that restaurant owners and managers describe is about disconnected systems: multiple tablets from different platforms open at once, orders that have to be re-keyed from one screen into another, kitchen display routing, and reconciliation across those systems at the end of the night. None of that is answered here. Daviah appears to be one ordering channel — a direct pickup-ordering path from your own website — not a hub that consolidates other platforms or replaces your kitchen display system.

The disruption that comes from losing internet connectivity mid-service is also not addressed. If your connection drops, Daviah does not describe a fallback that keeps orders flowing. If you are carrying multiple third-party tablet systems and need a way to retire them, this is not that solution. What follows covers only what the facts actually support.

A customer's card is held, not charged, until someone accepts

When a customer places an order through your website, their card is authorised — held — at that moment. The charge only goes through when a member of staff at the counter accepts the order. If nobody accepts it, the hold is released and the customer is not charged at all.

That matters on a busy night when an order slips through unnoticed. The customer does not end up paying for food they never received, and you do not end up processing a refund. The order either gets accepted and charged, or it lapses and the hold clears.

What happens when an order sits unanswered

Daviah does not rely on someone remembering to check the screen. When an order comes in and nobody responds, the system escalates: reminders appear on the order screens, then alerts go to staff phones, and finally online ordering pauses automatically so no further orders are taken while nobody is there to handle them.

That last step — pausing ordering automatically — matters because the alternative is a queue of held orders building up while the counter is understaffed or the screen is missed. The escalation is graduated, so staff get a chance to respond before the pause kicks in.

Controls your staff can use before the rush — and during it

Ordering can be paused with a message to customers, so if the kitchen is in the weeds or you are short-staffed for a shift, you can stop new orders arriving rather than letting them stack up. Ordering can also be limited to your opening hours so it does not run overnight or outside the times you have set, and it can be switched on per menu so you control which items are available for pickup at any given time.

These are tools your staff can reach without calling anyone or waiting for a support ticket. Pause it, set the hours, switch a menu on or off — the controls are in the office.

Orders go to your own Stripe account — not through a middleman

Card payments from online orders go straight to your own Stripe account. You are the merchant. You pay Stripe's fees directly. Daviah takes no cut of the order value.

Refunds, when they are needed, can be processed from the office. You are not chasing a third-party platform to release money that passed through their systems first.

What online ordering requires

Online ordering for pickup is included on the Website and Members plan at $79.99 a month, or $819.99 a year. It is not available on the Website plan or the free plan. You will need a Stripe account connected. Orders are pickup only — delivery is not part of what Daviah handles.

You can publish your menu on the website on any paid plan without enabling ordering, if you want customers to see what you serve without being able to order from the site yet.

Questions

What happens to the customer's card if nobody at the counter accepts the order?

The hold placed on their card at the time of ordering is released and they are not charged. The charge only goes through when a member of staff accepts the order. If the order lapses unanswered, it costs the customer nothing.

How does the system alert staff when an order is sitting unanswered?

It escalates in stages: reminders appear on the order screens first, then alerts go to staff phones. If the order still goes unanswered, online ordering pauses automatically so no further orders arrive while nobody is available to handle them.

Can staff pause ordering mid-service without calling for help?

Yes. Ordering can be paused from the office with a message shown to customers. It can also be limited to opening hours in advance so it does not run outside the times you have set, and it can be toggled per menu.

Does Daviah replace the kitchen display system or consolidate multiple ordering tablets?

No. Daviah is one ordering channel — a direct pickup-ordering path from your own website. It does not route orders to a kitchen display system, consolidate tablets from other platforms, or handle order reconciliation across multiple systems. If those are the problems causing the most disruption, this guide is honest that Daviah does not address them.

Does Daviah take a share of each order's value?

No. Card payments go directly to your own Stripe account. You pay Stripe's processing fees and Daviah takes no application fee or cut of the order. You are the merchant.

What plan is needed for online ordering, and are deliveries supported?

Online ordering requires the Website and Members plan at $79.99 a month or $819.99 a year. Orders are pickup only — delivery is not covered. You can publish your menu on the site on any paid plan without activating ordering.